Here’s a picture of the new Doctor Who, Matt Smith, in his ‘Doctor’ costume for Series 5 along with Karen Gillan as his companion Amy Pond (I was right, read my last post).

I have to admit I’m in two minds about this costume. On one hand it’s definetely ‘Who’, kinda tweedy and eccentric, and very similar to David Tennant’s geek chic, but the only thing that’s putting me off is the bow-tie, when David donned the neck-tie it was at a (still present) time when that was cool but bow-ties can’t, and never should be, worn in public. Styling Matt’s hair as they have I suppose makes this look work a bit more, and granted I hated David’s suit at first. I will, as I shall with the actor, refrain from making definitive judgements until I have seen the suit in action. I’m not sure why the bottoms of his trousers are rolled up and I really hope that won’t be a permanent fixture, maybe they’re too long for him at the moment so he doesn’t want to trample them and rip them up. Also, a gold watch? Possibly a bit too bling for The Doctor but alright. Actually, forget the ‘two minds’ crap, I like it far more than I dislike it, it’s rapidly grown on me and it’s some good vintage Who.

I’m also interested by what Karen Gillan, playing Amy Pond, seems to be wearing for this scene. She looks adorable in that big blue jumper and she is a very good looking woman, along with the open shirt with the rolled up sleeves suggests that she’s going to be a very casually dressing character, which sounds awesome (and also a little odd that, for the first time, my choices of wardrobe are closer to that of the companion than the Doctor, but then to dress too clearly as the latter is a level of geek that even I am incapable of). I know it’s an off-set picture but they seem to be having a laugh which is good for on-screen chemistry. People have been giving Matt Smith a very hard time, saying that he’s too young, too pretty/ugly and criticising his acting ability, and I disagree on all counts. I’ve only seen Matt Smith in one episode of ‘Party Animals’ and it was enough to convince me, he’s a fine actor easily on par, if not better than, some other Doctor’s (I’m being careful not to compare MS to the few Doctors who were classically trained theatre actors) and, of course, I saw him in Secret Diary of a Call Girl with Billie Piper, the irony of which the fanboys are eating up *fanfiction ahoy*. Looks, I find, generally have nothing to do with acting ability, and it’s particularly common for Who (Tom Baker’s wide eyes and teeth, Colin Baker’s curly mop and garish coat, Chris Eccleston’s ears/nose/forehead) to have unusual looking people playing the role, though I think that SM’s choice was a bit tame compared to past odd-docs (examples above).

As for the off-quoted ‘Hollyoaks-ing of Who’ then I’d say that Moffat’s choice of costume has swiftly put an end to it. Yes, he’s younger than all previous Doctors, and it’s maybe not something I would’ve done, but don’t forget that this man has brought you some of the best Who stories yet and it’s become apparent that despite his success and praise before, now that he’s becoming head writer he officially, in the eyes of fanboys, becomes a Who-killing asshole. Leave the poor guy alone, he’s like us! Moffat’s just as much of a fanboy as we are for Who and he’s one of the best writers in the UK today, he’ll do well. Overall, it’s become habit for people to claim that 2010 will see ‘The Death of Who’, but that could’ve been possible with ANY past doctor if not done correctly, in the past 45 years the collective writers of Who have managed to write some utter craptraps and not yet killed it (defeating The Master with hope anyone?) and with a show like this, where showrunners and actors alike can change so rapidly, IF the combo of 11, AP and SM turns out to be potentially lethal, then it is simply a matter of regenerating, dieing and leaving in that order and the show can reset itself. But I am VERY confident that the next series will be utterly fantastic!

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